Painting your interior

If the interior of your house seems dull, faded or simply out of style, it may be that you need to refresh it with new, bright colours. Here's how you can do it.
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1. Prepare your work properly
2. Prepare the walls
3. Apply the paint
4. Painting the mouldings
5. Do the cleaning
6. Painting with a airless paint sprayer
7. Run a fine sandpaper between coats
8. Store the paint

1. Prepare your work properly

Preparation is crucial as it impacts directly on the final appearance of the paint. Most problems in painting can be attributed to poor preparation.

1.1 

First prepare the room. Make the room you wish to paint functional and suitable for work by removing small furniture, lamps, frames and decorative items. Place large pieces of furniture in the centre of the room and cover them with a protective sheet. Also cover the floor to protect it from spills.

1.2 

Protect accessories and decorations.
Take the time to remove anything that is not to be painted such as electrical wall plates, wood railings, etc. Unscrew light fixtures and let them hang. Or cover them with a plastic bag for additional protection.

2. Prepare the walls

If there are holes or cracks on the walls, use lightwieght spakle to repair them and sand them properly. Remove dust and other types of residues using a broom or vacuum cleaner.

Use a rag or sponge to wash walls and ceilings with trisodium phosphate (TSP) before applying any product. This should remove all dirt.Apply a primer. Clean baseboards with a damp cotton rag or sponge.

If you're painting over newly installed drywall, it's important to prepare the surface properly before applying your primer, letting it dry, and then applying finishing coats of paint.

3. Apply the paint

Paint should be applied in this order: ceilings, walls, mouldings, door and window mouldings. Before starting, be sure the temperature is at least 10°C and that there's sufficient ventilation and lighting.

3.1 

For the ceiling begin by cutting around the perimeter of the ceiling before using a roller to do the surface. Roll on the paint lengthwise or widthwise, as you wish. We do recommend, however, that you paint one coat one way, the second the other way so as to eliminate any roller marks.

3.2 

for the walls proceed in a similar fashion for the walls, using a sash brush to do your cutting and a roller for the surface. Roll paint on from top to bottom, from left to right.

4. Painting the mouldings

Use a fine brush to paint the mouldings. Use low tack painter's tape to protect all surfaces that you do not wish to paint. Then, proceed to paint doors and window mouldings.

5. Do the cleaning

When the work is complete, be sure to clean your brushes. Use warm water and soap for latex paint and a solvent for oil paint. If you're planning to use them the next day or on following days, store them in plastic wrap in order to keep the bristles fresh.

6. Painting with a airless paint sprayer

If the house is completely empty and you wish to paint it in one colour, an airless paint gun would seem to be ideal. A gun is simple to use and allows you to do the job in record time. In fact, you can probably paint a 10' by 12' room in about 15 minutes. But beware! Use a airless paint gun, not a compressed-air gun. The latter produces excessive paint vapours. Before you start, be sure to cover windows, cupboards, woodwork and electric switches to protect them from errant spray. And, until you get the hang of things, we suggest you stay a little farther away from the surface you want to paint to avoid streaks. Normally, two coats will suffice as a gun will spread about 20% more paint than a roller.

7. Run a fine sandpaper between coats

To get better results, run a fine sandpaper over the painted surface between coats to remove dust and paint particles. Once the job is done, remember that paint takes up to 30 days to cure and reach its maximum hardeness.

8. Store the paint

If you have paint left over when the job is done, be sure to seal the containers tightly and store the paint out of the reach of children, in a place where the temperature is neither too cold nor too warm. If you need to discard paint, be sure to consult your municipality to determine the procedure you need to follow.
Painting a room or a whole house is an operation you can perform quickly and, generally, without serious difficulty. Once you have the right tools, you need only plan properly in order to do a professional job. And with the help of your family and friends, you can turn the process into a fun event which you can enjoy in pleasant company?
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